“The Interrupted Beauties” by Farnaz Jahani

Lauren Sinner / November 20, 2017

Farnaz Jahani (originally from Tehran, Iran) recently received her MFA in Illustration and Fibers from Savannah College of Art and Design, and just became a member of SDA! Jahani joined SDA to continue to be active and stay updated on various methods and techniques designers utilize to treat a surface in a special way. This article spotlights her current body of work, the unique process she uses, and her graduate exhibition The Interrupted Beauties, which was on display at Location Gallery from May 10–26, 2017.

Farnaz Jahani The Woven Straps 2017, acrylic, laser cut, 8″ x 8″.

As a visual artist, I have been trained to make my imagination real. I began creating surface designs by focusing on narrating my most complicated feelings through hand painted patterns, which are then manipulated using laser-cutting technology. Much as life can force unexpected changes, compressing the cut lines forces them to break apart at the surface and interrupt the viewer’s vision. The distorted images introduce new angles to perceive accidental aesthetic, which I call The Interrupted Beauties.

My body of work, simply, is a narration of life—it captures the ups and downs, where there is no definable border between success and failure. I borrow Iranian symbols, motifs, and language to showcase the land I come from as well as my personality. I redirect my confusion to achieve an internal peace with my art while expressing my inner side—the side of me that I’m still unconsciously exploring. The purest moment of creation is when I’m not planning my pieces or aware of the execution process, or even its end result. The most pleasing moment is when the process takes me within and surprises me with its hidden layers—layers that are present in my life as well as in my art.

Although my technique combines a wide range of traditional mediums; including acrylics, watercolor, soft and oil pastels, pen, and ink, I recently discovered a way of incorporating technology as a non-traditional medium; using a laser cutter to paint my motifs. This machine allows me to create not only art but also unique pieces that are easier to reproduce in the surface design market, a facet of commercial market. The laser cutter raster engraves my design into a painted surface and makes exact cuts, leaving a brownish burnt tracing behind.

I offer a chance to perceive surroundings from a new point of view, discovering new layers of thought by directing my audience to move around and through my thoughts, which are represented by lines and layers. My work is all about the way each of us react toward life’s happenings and survive through chaos. In a way, we are all facing the same world, but looking into that world through different angles to develop our very personal ups and downs.

The Interrupted Beauties is the story of my life. I have created a personal narrative pattern design collection, which highlights my lifetime experiences, philosophical thoughts, and how I interact with the world and my surroundings. I exhume additional visions of life through line and layers to make my idea tangible to communicate with my viewers where they can find a whole new angle to perceive life, even though those visions are only The Interrupted Beauties.

The Interrupted Beauties installation shot at Savannah College of Art and Design.

The Interrupted Beauties installation shot at Savannah College of Art and Design.

The Interrupted Beauties installation shot at Savannah College of Art and Design.